Sewing machine attachment



Oct. l0, 1939. G HlNMAN 2,175,293

SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 G. L. HINMAN SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Oct. 10, 1939.

Filed Jan. 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Gruene/14,5

Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Application January 2, 1937, Serial No. 118,827

16 Claims.

This invention relates to sewing machine attachments, and more particularly for an attachment to make what is known as a zigzag or crisscross stitching operation. In devices for performing an operation of this character, it is necessary that the cloth or material being stitched be moved laterally between each stitching operation, that is, be given a lateral movement each time that the sewing machine needle is raised out ing a line of zigzag or crisscross stitching upon the material. Such a device has a wide range of usefulness in that it may be employed for a number of different operations. For example, it may be employed merely to make a zigzag line of stitching upon the cloth for decorative purposes', the device being capable of adjustment so that this zigzag stitching may be wide or narrow, depending upon the throw imparted to the cloth in its lateral movements. The device may also be employed to stitch a cord upon a piece of cloth, alternate stitches being made on opposite sides of the cord, so that the latter is stitched firmly to the cloth. Also, it may be used to sew a strip of material such as a band or braid to a piece of material, the device working at the edge cf the strip or band and making alternate stitches on and oil of the strip, so that the thread is carried over the edge of the strip, thus binding it to the material. Many other uses will suggest themselves, but it is unnecessary to describe them all.

One object of the invention is the provision o-f a sewing machine attachment for the production 45 of zigzag or crisscross stitching, which will operate efficiently and which will be capable of a variety of uses.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a sewing machine attachment capable of doing crisscross or zigzag work which is capable of a relatively wide range of adjustments for various types of work.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a sewing machine attachment of the character described which will be relatively simple in con- Uli will be in alignment with the rst one, thus makstruction and economical to manufacture, and which will atA the same time be eflicient in operationand capable of a wide variety of uses.

To` these and other ends the invention consists in the novelr features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 isa side elevational View of a sewing machine attachment embodying my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the other side of the device;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in section showing one step in the operation of the device;

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5, but taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing the device in inoperative position for performing plain sewing;

Fig, 8 is a detail view of the frame member of the device;

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. 8 showing a modified form of attaching means;

Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a detail View showing the presser foot and cloth guiding attachment in top plan; and

Fig. 12 is a side elevational View of the parts shown in Fig. 11.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my f invention, I have shown a sewing machine attachment comprising a main frame member having a vertically disposed plate I0 which has at its lower edge a horizontally extending flange ll, this flange being connected to the plate at its front and rear ends, and there being a slot or opening I2 between the plate and flange for the greater part of the length of the latter between the two points of connection. At its forward end the portion Ill of the frame is provided with an attaching foot I3 generally U-shaped in horizontal cross-section, as shown more particularly in Fig. .4. It will be understood that this member is intended to embrace and be secured to the presser bar of an ordinary household sewing machine so that the attachment will be placed in substitution for the usual presser foot. Adjacent the Slo-t or opening l2 the frame member lll is provided with the stepped surfaces I4 and l5, and it is also provided with an opening or recess I6, which opens into the slot I2. The purpose of these parts will be explained hereinafter.

erated about its pivot I9 bythe motion of the needle bar. l.

The fork arm 29 is in the form of a bell crank lever and provided on the side of the pivot I9,V

opposite the portion 28 with a depending L- shaped arm 22. Adjacent its end this arm is provided with a laterally turned lug 23 adapted to threadedly receive a screw 24 provided 'with a shoulder 25 and an enlarged adjusting head 25 spaced from this shoulder. The screw 24 is embraced between the shoulder 25 and the head 25 by the arcuately shaped end 27 of a spring, the body 28 of which is secured to the lever portion 22, This spring is tensioned to frictionally engage the screw 24 by means of its curved end 2'I and thus hold the screw in an adjusted position. This curved end of the springalso acts-as a stop limiting the adjustment of the screw in the lug 23 by contacting with the head 26 upon one side and the shoulder 25 upon the" other, thus determining the limits of adjustment of the-screw. As will be later explained, the adjustment of this screw determines the length of the lateral throw imparted to the cloth so as to determine the width of the zigzag line of stitching.y

The frame portion I9 is also provided with an opening 38 adapted to receive a pin or rivet 3l upon which is pivoted the lever 32, this leverhaving cam portions 33 and 34 upon opposite sides of a high point 35, which cam portions are engaged by the end of the screw 24 to actuate this lever in one direction. The lever is moved in the other direction by a laterally extending lug 36 on the portion 22 of the fork arm 20, so that when the fork arm is reciprocated by the up and down movements of the needle bar, the lever 32 will likewise be oscillated or rocked about its pivot 3|.

Pivoted at 3l to the lower end of the lever 32 is a pawl 38, and a cooperating pawl 39 is pivoted to this lever at 4I! above the pivot 3I. It will be noted that the distance of the pivot of the upper pawl from the pivot of the lever is somewhat greater than that of the lower pawl, so that the upper pawl 39 will have a slightly greater throw than the lower pawl when the lever 32 is rocked.

The pawls 38 and 39 are in the same plane and their adjacent surfaces oppose each other. As shown more particularly in Figs. and 6, the pawl 38 is provided with a notch or recess 4I, the front edge of which is slightly out back or dove-tailed at 42, and this pawl is likewise provided With a recess 43 spaced a slight distance from the recess 4 I The upper pawl 39 is likewise provided with recesses 44 and 45 in its lower edge, the recess 44 being slightly cut back or dove-tailed at its rear edge, as shown at 46. The rear edge of the recess 4I and the front edge of the recess 44 may be slightly beveled away from the recess opening, so that when these edges of the recesses encounter the arm of the presser foot, as will be explained later, they will tend to ride thereover, while the opposite will be true of the cut-back or dove-tailed edges 42 and 45,

which will tend to grip the arm of the presserfoot and impart movement thereto.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 11,

the attachment is provided with a presser foot 48 which is movably attached to the horizontally disposed frame member II. For this purpose an L-shaped arm 49 is connected at one side edge of the presser foot 48, and extends rearwardly therefrom, and has a laterally projecting end 50 passing through the slot I2 and pivotally secured to the fram-e portion I I by means of the pin or rivet 5I. The portion 50 of this arm is designed to be engaged by the pawls 38 and 39, and its front and rear edges may be slightly beveled for this purpose, as shown at 52 and 53, in a manner complementary to the cut-back edges 42 and 46 of the recesses in the pawls.

A lever 54 is pivotally mounted upon the pin 5I and provided with a cam end 55 designed to be swung through the slot I2 and inserted within the recesses 43 and 45 of the pawls. A slotted spring washer 54a may be placed below the head ,of the pin 5Ito frictionally hold the parts in position. Continued movement of this lever will cause it to engage the forward end of these recesses and spread the pawls apart, as shown in Fig. 7, so that neither pawl will engage the laterally extending arm 58 on the presser foot. This holds the pawls in inoperative position so that the presser foot will not be moved, and the sewing machine will perform a plain stitching operation at that time. In other words, this lever is merely to throw'the device out of operation when it is not desired to use it, and will save the user the necessity of removing the attachment from the machine whenever a small amount of plain sewing is desired. The inoperative position of this lever is shown in Fig. k3, where the end 55 lies without the plane of the pawls 38 and 39. Its operative position is shown in Fig. 7, in which position the pawls are held out of engagement with the arm of the presser foot. In the position shown in Fig. 7 the forward edge of the cam member 55 lies against the shoulder I5 of the frame member I, so that the movement of the lever 54 is limited by this shoulder. When the arm 59 stands against the forward edge of the cam member 55 in this position, the presser foot is in an intermediate position suitable for plain sewing. The forward movement of the arm 5U from this position is limited by the shoulder I4, which is the position of the presser foot shown in Fig. 3. While the presser foot in this position has been moved laterally until it is no longer centered with the needle, nevertheless the needle will still pass through the elongated slot 51 in the presser foot. Its movement being thus limited, the presser foot will never be permitted to be placed in a position where the needle might strike a solid portion thereof and be broken.

A spring 58 has its bight portion mounted upon the pivot pin 3 I, the ends of this spring embracing the outer edges of the pawls 38 and 39. This spring is tensioned to urge the two pawls toward each other, but oats freely upon the pivot 3l so that it has no tendency to hold the pawls in any particular position, that is, the two pawls may be swung upwardly or downwardly to a limited extent Without such action being opposed by the spring unless one pawl is moved away from the other.

The presser foot, besides being provided with the elongated needle opening 57, is provided with a, longitudinally extending recess or depression 59 in which is designed to be received a cord, for example, when it is desired to use the device. When such an operation is desired, a guide member `60, shown in Fig. 1l, is secured upon the Cil presser foot by means ofthe screw 3| thread'ed into the opening 62. rI*his guide member also is provided with an opening 53 which receives a small pin or boss 64 on the presser foot, and is additionally provided with a needle opening 65 registering with Athe needle opening 5l of the presser foot, and a cord opening 36 leading into a groove or recess 31 on the under side of the guide member 6B. As shown, this guide member 6G also serves as a cloth guide when it is d'esired to sew a strip or tape to a piece of material, and for this purpose has aforwardly projecting portion 68 provided with cloth guiding slots 69. The inner edges of these slots are at different positions with respect to the center of the needle openings so as to correctly position the edge of the stripbeing sewed to the material with respect to the adjusted length of the throw given to the presser foot 48.

The screw 6l is conveniently, permanently but rotatably secured to the guide member 5t by having its shank inserted through a slot lil in this member, and the edges of this slot slightly closed, so that the screw will be retained therein, but at the same time will be permitted free rotation.

In order that the device may be capable of universal attachment, that is, capable of attachment to sewing machines of various makes, it is necessary to provide attaching portions or adapters of various construction. As shown, for example, in Figs. 9 and 10, the adapter or attaching portion il is of a different character from the attachment member i3, shown, for example, in Figs. l to 4. This adapter or member 'll is L provided with a horizontally slotted member 'l2 designed to embrace a screw at the lower end of the presser foot. In this case the adapterV is provided with a laterally extending body portion lf3, which may be secured to the horizontally extending portion ll of the frame in any desired manner, such as by rivets 'M While the attaching member I3 is shown as formed integrally with the frame, this need not necessarily be done, as it may be made as a separate part and provided with a rearwardly extending portion, which may be secured' or riveted to the frame similarly to the construction shown in connection with the member il. In other words, the frame member iD and associated parts may be made standard for all machines, and the attaching member or adapter made as a separate part and secured to the attachment according to the particular make of sewing machine with which the attachment is tobe used.

The operation of my device may be briefly described as follows: When the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6, the fork arm 2E has `been raised by the needle bar, and the arm 53 of the presser foot has been thrown forwardly by the upper pawl 39, the under-cut portion 353 of the recess il having engaged the arm 5t for this purpose. The presser foot has been moved over into one extreme position, as shown in Fig. 3 and in full lines in Fig. Li, which would move the cloth toward the left of the operator as the latter faces the sewing machine and the attachment.

Upon the succeeding down stroke of the needle bar, the fork arm is moved downwardly, thus making a stitch in the goods and throwing the pawl 39 rearwardly and the pawl 38 forwardly. During this movement it will be noted that both pawls will ride freely over the part B, owing to the beveled forward end of the recess 44 and the beveled rear end of the recess 4 I so that no movement of the presser foot will take place atthis time. When, however, the pawl 38 is moved forwardly to a sufficient extent until the shoulder of the under-cut end 42 of the recess 4l passes the forward edge of the p-art 5i), the pawl 38 will immediately spring upwardly so that the edge of the recess 4l is in operative engagement with the part 5t. This upward movement .will be brought about by means of the spring 58, which tends to keep the pawls together, as at this time the pawl 39 is riding upon the top of the part 50, and has, therefore, been forced upwardly away from the pawl 38. Upon the next succeeding upward movement ofthe fork arm 20 as actuated by the needle bar, the pawl 38 will be moved rearwardly and bring with it the part 5G, thus swinging the presser foot to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4, which is the other extreme of its movement. The pawl 35i will have been moved forwardly, but the rear edge of the recess 45 will have been held out of engagement with the part 58 b-y reason of the fact that the forward end of this pawl contacts with the forward end of the pawl 38. This position of the parts is shown in Fig. 5, and it will be seen that the pawl 39 upon this forward stroke has ridden freely over the arm 5E. Upon the succeeding down stroke of the fork arm 2t, the parts again slide freely over the arm 5o, so that no movement is imparted to the presser foot f'l, and a stitch is made in the cloth in the position to which it has been moved. Upon the succeeding upstroke of the arm 2li, the edge d of the recess Ml will drop into engagement with the rear edge of the arm E3, as shown in. Fig. 6, and move it forwardly, the engagement of the forward end of the pawls at this time preventing any upward movement of the lower pawl i 38 which might engage the portion d2 thereof with the arm 59. ,The pawl 3S will upon this upward stroke return the presser-foot to the position shown in Fig. 3, and the complete'cycle of,

operations has been completed.

,- It will be seen, therefore, that the cycle `off.. 'Y

ing operation'through the cloth in the position to which it has been moved. During the upward strokes, however, different operations take place, depending upon whether the arm 5t is in its forward or rear position. When in its rear position the shoulder 46 contacts with the rear side of the arm 5l! prior to the engagement thereof by the shoulder t2, and the engagement of the pawls at their front ends will hold the pawl 33 downwardlyso that the latter will not engage the arm 56, and this arm will be moved forwardly. When, however, the arm 5B is in its forward position at the beginning of an upward stroke, the shoulder 42 will engage the forward edge of the arm 5B prio-r to the engagement thereof by the shoulder d6, and the lower pawl will thereafter hold the upper pawl out of engagement. Therefore, while it might be said that the same motion is given 'to the pawls 38 and 39 upon each upward stroke of the fork lever 2Q, the result of these motions is entirely different depending on the position of the arm 5@ attached to the presser foot. In one case the lower pawl will engage the arm and move it rearwardly, while in the other case the upper pawl will engage the arm and move it forwardly.

If it is desired to temporarily render the attachment inoperative so that plain sewing may bep'erformed upon the machine, this is done by swinging the lever 54 in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the `cam end 55 of this lever is inserted between the pawls 38 and 39, as

a shown in Fig. 7, thus holding both pawls out of engagement with the arm 5B. The arm 50 will then be held by the front edge of the cam arm 55 in aligned position for plain sewing, and while the pawls will be moved at each stroke of the needle bar, they will slide idly over the arm 5B and the presser foot will remain at rest.

By adjusting the screw 24 through its threaded connection with the lug 23, the throw given to the lever 32 by the fork arm 2 may be varied as desired in order that the cloth may be given a long or short throw in its lateral movement, and thereby vary the width of the zigzag line of stitching. The slight amount of adjustment shown for this screw is sufficient to vary the 20.width of the line of stitching from an extremely narrow line to a fairly wide one.

When it is desired to sew a cord, for example, or a strip such as a band or tape, upon a piece of material, the guiding attachment 63 is se- `cured to the presser foot, as has been described. This member is rigidly secured in place and will, of course, be moved laterally with the presser foot, so that the strip such as a cord or band will be moved with the goods rst in one direc- 3Q;tion and then in the other. It will be understood that the under surface of the presser foot is knurled or roughened so that it will frictionally engage the material being sewed and effectively move it in a lateral direction.

While I have shown and described some preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

, What I claim is:

'l. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot connected to the frame for back and forth movements in a horizontal plane 4,5` in a direction generally transverse to the feed of material through the attachment, pawl means adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine to engage a part of said presser foot and effect movement thereof, and means to 50 hold said pawl means in inoperative position.

2. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot connected to said frame for back and forth movements in a horizontal plane in a direction generally transverse to the feed 55 of material through the attachment, means adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine to effect movement of said presser foot, said means comprising a pawl member engaging a part of said presser foot, and means to prevent such engagement of said pawl member to render the same inoperative.

3. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot connected to said frame for 65 back and forth movements in a horizontal plane in a direction generally transverse to the feed of material through the attachment, a pair of pawl members carried by said frame, means to effect a back and forth movement of said pawl members, a member attached to said presser foot and -adapted to extend between said pawl members to be engaged thereby, whereby said pawl meinbers actuate said presser foot, and means movably carried by said frame and adapted to be 75 moved between said pawl members to hold them out of engagement with the member attached to the presser foot.

4. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot pivotally connected to said frame for back and forth movements in a horizontal plane in a direction generally transverse to the feed of material through the attachment and adapted to bear upon the upper surface of the material, oppositely acting pawls actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine to engage and effect movement of said presser foot, and strip guiding means attached to said presser foot to be moved thereby.

5. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot connected to said frame for back and forth movements in a horizontal plane in a direction generally transverse to the feed of material through the attachment, pawl means adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine to effect movement of said presser foot, and strip guiding means attached to said presser foot to be moved thereby, said strip guiding means having an opening therethrough, and said presser foot having a needle opening therein communicating with said first-named opening.

6. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot connected to said frame for back and forth movements in a direction transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on said frame, actuating means for said lever adapted to be operated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, pawl means connected to said lever, means to effect movement of said presser foot by said pawl means, an adjusting screw for varying the movement imparted to said lever, and resilient means to hold said adjusting screw in a predetermined position and limit the adjustment thereof.

7. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, means connected to said frame to move the material back and forth in a direction substantially transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on the frame, actuating means for said lever adapted to be operated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, pawl means connected to said lever and adapted to effect movement of said first-named means, and an adjusting screw for varying the movement imparted to the lever by said actuating means.

8. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame,lmeans carried by the frame to move the material back and forth in a direction transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on the frame, an arm pivoted to the frame and adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, means carried by said arm engaging said lever to move the same in opposite directions, and pawl members carried by said lever to engage and move said first-named means.

9. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, means carried by the frame to move the material back and forth in a direction transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on the frame, an arm pivoted to the frame and adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, said arm having a lost-motion connection with said lever to move the latter in opposite directions, and pawl members carried means.

by said lever to engage and move said lrst-named 75 10. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, means carried by the frame to move the material back and forth in a direction transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on the frame, an arm pivoted to the frame and adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, said arm having a part engaging said lever to move the same in opposite directions, means to vary said engagement to adjust the throw imparted to said lever by said arm, and pawl members carried by said lever to engage and move said first-named means.

11. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, means carried by the frame to move the material back and forth in a direction transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on the frame, an arm pivoted to the frame and adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, said arm carrying abutments to engage said lever on opposite sides thereof to move it in opposite directions, and pawl members carried by said lever to engage and move said first-named means.

12. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, means carried by the frame to move the material back and forth in a direction transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on the frame, an arm pivoted to the frame and adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, and said arm carrying abutments to engage said lever on opposite sides thereof to move it in opposite directions, one of said abutments being adjustable to vary the movement 0 imparted to said lever, and pawl members carried by said lever to engage and move said first-named means.

13. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, means connected to the frame to move the material back and forth in a direction substantially transverse to the line of travel of the material through the attachment, an oscillating lever mounted on the frame and connected to said means to move the same, actuating means for said lever adapted to be operated by the needle bar of the sewing machine, means for varying the movement imparted to said lever by said actuating means, and pawl members carried by said lever to engage and move said first-named means.

14. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot connected to the frame for back and forth movement in a horizontal plane in a direction generally transverse tothe feed of the material through the attachment, pawl means adapted to be actuated by the needle bar of the sewing machine to effect movement of said presser foot, and means movable into engagement with said pawl means to render actuation thereof ineffective to move the presser foot.

15. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, a presser foot projecting forwardly from the frame and pivotally connected to said frame for back and forth movements in a horizontal plane in a direction generally transverse to the feed of material through the attachment, a pair of pawl members carried by said frame, means to effect a back and forth movement of said pawl members, and a member attached to said presser foot and adapted to extend between said pawl members to be engaged thereby, whereby said pawl members actuate said presser foot, said presser foot being provided with an elongated needle opening through which the material is stitched.

16. A sewing machine attachment comprising a frame, an operating lever attached to the frame and having means for connection to the needle bar of the sewing machine, a presser foot connected to the frame for back and forth movementv in a horizontal plane in a direction generally transverse to the feed of the material through the attachment, pawl means actuated by said lever to effect movement of said presser foot, and means movable into engagement with said pawl means to render the same inoperative.

GEORGE L. HINMAN. 

